Chavez keeps lid on boom in murders

Venezuelans see 67% rate jump since 1999

December 03, 2006|By Simon Romero, New York Times News Service

CARACAS, Venezuela — Walk into an emergency room in many poor parts of this booming, oil-rich nation on a weekend night and you will be overwhelmed--victims of gunshot wounds and drunken clashes line the corridors. Homicides are up 67 percent since 1999, and violent crime is the top concern of Venezuela's voters as they head to the polls Sunday.

Yet the man in charge since then, President Hugo Chavez, rarely addresses the problem publicly and is sailing toward an easy election for a third time. Analysts say Chavez is able to ignore the issue by governing through a system of extensive handouts that eases the purchase of basic goods but does little to ensure public order.

"Chavez has shielded himself from the issue because people see his government as an important arbiter in their daily life," said Miguel Tinker Salas, an expert on Venezuelan history at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif. "Chavez's policies have made a difference among the poor, and that's what is recognized."

Crime analysts say part of the problem is that the government and its allies have politicized police forces throughout the country, marginalizing officers viewed as disagreeing with Chavez's "Bolivarian Revolution," which uses militaristic and nationalistic rhetoric in an attempt to reconfigure society with vague socialist ideals.

Analysts say police forces have also largely been urged to tread lightly in poor neighborhoods, turning a blind eye to petty crime and small demonstrations such as burning tires. Critics say it is part of Chavez's efforts to maintain support in poor neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, crime has exploded. According to human-rights groups and a UNESCO study, Venezuela has one of the highest rates of gun-related deaths in Latin America, with 41.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.

"Venezuela has undeniably become one of the most violent countries in the world," said Julio Jacobo Waiselfisz, the researcher who conducted the UNESCO study.

Though he trails badly in most polls, Chavez's opponent, Manuel Rosales, 53, governor of Zulia state in western Venezuela, has been pounding the crime issue, questioning why homicides have surged since Chavez entered office in 1999, to 9,962 in 2005 from 5,974 in 1999, according to figures from the Criminal Investigations Police.

The vast majority of homicides in Venezuela occur in the country's poorest communities--Chavez's strongest base. The large majority of incidents involve males ages 15 to 25.

One of the most unsettling aspects of the spike in killings is that it has developed as Venezuela's economy has boomed--thanks to high oil prices. Gross domestic product climbed 10.2 percent in the latest quarter, making Venezuela the fastest-growing economy in Latin America.

The channeling of oil revenues into a broad range of social welfare programs seems to have alleviated poverty somewhat in recent years. The number of Venezuelans living in poverty has declined to 34 percent from 44 percent in 1998, the year before Chavez took office, according to government figures.

Some of that decline clearly has happened as Chavez has funded a broad range of welfare programs including adult literacy, subsidized basic foodstuffs and medical care in poor areas.

"We're witnessing a reduction in infant mortality rates only to see our boys killed when they turn 16," said Ana Maria Sanjuan, a sociologist at Central University in Caracas and an official with Provea, a human-rights watchdog.

Citing figures from the Criminal Investigations Police, she said homicides in Venezuela rose 23 percent from January to August of this year, to 7,616.

"The politicization and decrepitude of our policing structures may have more to do with our culture of violence than just poverty," Sanjuan said.